Design Struggles to Shine

Disappointing 20thC Design Sales Bring in Just Shy of $18 million

All three auction houses held their 20th Century Design sales through the weekend. The results weren’t thrilling but they did validate Murray Moss’s prediction: “Prices continue to rise dramatically for great work, and to fall for what is deemed mediocre,” he said. “In short, the market is becoming more extreme – like the society that supports it.” His comments come from Alice Rawsthorn’s overview of the ‘design-art’ market published two weeks ago in the International Herald Tribune and a touch more recently in the NY Times. (Detailed results after the jump.)

Rawsthorn outlines the usual art world dichotomy between primary dealers and auction houses. But the sales don’t suggest a runaway market . . . yet. Combined there were 648 lots on offer at the three auction houses. 400 of those lots found buyers giving the weekend a 61.7% sell-through rate. The $17,957,750 total was low with Christie’s struggling at the low end with $4.9 million (though a separate sale of 18 decorative bronzes brought in $2.1 million); Phillips at $5.5; and Sotheby’s at $7.4 million. Christie’s had the best sell-through rate at 64% with Phillips trailing at 58% and Sotheby’s in between at 62%.

The real disparity comes when we compare average lot values. Christie’s had an average lot value of $28,262; Phillips de Pury racked up $42,636; and Sotheby’s had $79,551